MEPS 302:93-101 (2005)  -  doi:10.3354/meps302093

ABSTRACT: A continuous time series of high-resolution in vivo fluorescence measurements in coastal waters of the eastern English Channel over 4 tidal cycles investigated the potential influence of different turbulence intensities and advective tidal processes on small-scale phytoplankton patchiness. Although small-scale phytoplankton patchiness decreased with increasing turbulence intensity, phytoplankton distributions were never fully homogenised, and were more patchy during ebb than flood tides at turbulence intensities ranging from 10^–7 to 10^–4 m² s^–3. A combination of biologically and physically driven patchiness is suggested to be the cause of the observed patterns.

KEY WORDS: Turbulence · Tide · Phytoplankton · Patchiness · Sampling · Phaeocystis globosa